So I'm a TV-holic. I always have been. I have my steadfast favorite shows. I watch mostly drama and the occasional reality shows. I love General Hospital. I use to be a TV Guide subscriber, and even now I try to read about most all of the shows on network and cable TV just to stay in the know. There are times that critics have told me a show will be worthy and I've had another commitment, or I didn't believe them, or I waited too long to jump on the bandwagon and couldn't catch up.
Thanks to Netflix I can finally watch those shows that I should have watched back when they were on prime time. We started a monthly subscription with Netflix several years ago and we ordered movies. Then the new TV season began and we have as much time. I suggested we only use Netflix during the offseason and that is what we did until they started streaming. We have been with Netflix's streaming for over a year now, but only recently have I begun using it to catch up with old television shows.
The first show that I caught up with was Army Wives. Not exactly earth shaking television, but it fit the bill for something to watch during those summer evenings while eating dinner. The plots were always simple and didn't require much thinking, but it did give me a small glimpse into some of the things the Army and the spouses who marry into it go through; not that I believed everything. The acting was good. The friendships were strong. We finished the entire arc that Netflix had to offer, and I thought that the cast and crew had done a nice job of ending the series. Of course, Lifetime picked the series back up due to an Army Wives fan club protest, and because I was already invested in the series we recorded and watched the follow up season. This last season is still on our DVR and the kids attention has waned and I've moved on.
The next show I got hooked on was In Plain Sight with Mary McCormack, an actress that I thought seemed familiar, but couldn't place. I later found out that I watched her in Murder One and possibly the West Wing, a show I came in on a few years late. In Plain Sight McCormack plays Mary Shannon, a Marshall Deputy for the Witness Protection Program. She is hilarious, caring, and a butt-kicking deputy. The show ran on the USA Network for five seasons, and unfortunately for me, Netflix only has the first three seasons, 40 episodes. I still have two more to watch because I hate for it to all come to an end, although I did see that the show is out on DVD.
While not wanting to finish with In Plain Sight I looked for other shows to jump aboard on. I introduced my kids to The Wonder Years, and although they indulged me for about six episodes they weren't interested in any more. I made Madison sit through the two hour pilot of Magnum P.I., but she hasn't opted to watch any more with me. I watched the first season of Scandal in three days, but not soon enough to jump onto the current season two. About this time came news that Netflix was going to get into producing its own shows and they would start by resurrecting an old show canceled years ago, Arrested Development.
I loved the idea of Netflix resurrecting canceled shows, and that show was one that my friend Kelly kept insisting that I would love, so I decided to watch all of the first three seasons before jumping in on the resurrected season four. And how glad I was! If you haven't watched this comedy, you are missing out on same well written, hilarious, well acted television. I don't know how the actors kept a straight face during shooting. I spent one whole day watching Arrested Development and then re-watched episodes with Madison, something I rarely do. I am now on season four, two shows into it, and while I admire what they are trying to do I'm not sure that the show and/or the writing is the same. Perhaps letting sleepy dogs lie is better, especially years later; the actors are older and too much in life has happened since that time.
All of us now have our electronics hooked up to Netflix and we are each watching something different. The girls are into Psych, thanks to my nephew and niece, Tom is watching Weeds, and I've started watching Alias. It isn't a bad way to pass the summer.
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